Cytochrome P450 Cyp4x1 is a major P450 protein in mouse brain.

A novel cytochrome P450, CYP4x1, was identified in EST databases on the basis of similarity to a conserved region in the C-helix of the CYP4A family. The human and mouse CYP4x1 cDNAs were cloned and found to encode putative cytochrome P450 proteins. Molecular modelling of CYP4x1 predicted an unusual substrate binding channel for the CYP4 family. Expression of human CYP4x1 was detected in brain by EST analysis, and in aorta by northern blotting. The mouse cDNA was used to demonstrate that the Cyp4x RNA was expressed principally in brain, and at much lower levels in liver; hepatic levels of the Cyp4x1 RNA were not affected by treatment with the inducing agents phenobarbital, dioxin, dexamethasone or ciprofibrate, nor were the levels affected in PPARalpha-/- mice. A specific antibody for Cyp4x1 was developed, and shown to detect Cyp4x1 in brain; quantitation of the Cyp4x1 protein in brain demonstrated approximately 10 ng of Cyp4x1 protein.mg(-1) microsomal protein, showing that Cyp4x1 is a major brain P450. Immunohistochemical localization of the Cyp4x1 protein in brain showed specific staining of neurons, choroids epithelial cells and vascular endothelial cells. These data suggest an important role for Cyp4x1 in the brain.

High turnover rate of transfer RNA in tumor tissue.

Cancer patients and tumor-bearing animals excrete high levels of modified purines and pyrimidines some of which, e.g., N2,N2-dimethylguanosine, can originate only from transfer RNA (tRNA). Until recently, it could not be ascertained whether the high level of excretion of such compounds is due to cell death or specific tRNA turnover. However, an approach to this problem became feasible, with beta-aminoisobutyric acid as a probe. This compound is a terminal degradation product of thymine which is present in both DNA and tRNA. Since the pathway of synthesis of thymine is different in the two macromolecules, it and its end product, beta-aminoisobutyric acid can be differentially labeled with [14C]formate and [3H3]methylmethionine as precursors. Therefore the ratio of the two labels in the excreted beta-aminoisobutyric acid is a measure of the macromolecular origin of the degradation product. We have found from such analysis that tRNA's are not homogeneous in their turnover rate. There is a subpopulation that turns over much faster than the rest. The turnover rate of a subpopulation of tRNA's in tumor tissue exceeds the turnover rate of tRNA's in normal tissue. Such rapid degradation of tRNA's must be the source of the massive excretion of modified nucleosides by cancer patients which can be 10-fold higher than in normal subjects.

YM155 down-regulates survivin and XIAP, modulates autophagy and induces autophagy-dependent DNA damage in breast cancer cells.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the potency and molecular mechanism of action of YM155, a first-in-class survivin inhibitor that is currently under phase I/II clinical investigations, in various drug-resistant breast cancers including the oestrogen receptor positive (ER(+) ) tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer and the caspase-3-deficient breast cancer. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: The potency of YM155 in SK-BR-3, MDA-MB-231, MCF7 and its tamoxifen-resistant sublines, TamR6, TamR7, TamR8, TamC3 and TamC6, were determined by MTT assay. Western blot analysis, flow cytometric analysis, reverse transcription-PCR, fluorescent microscopy and comet assay were used to determine the molecular mechanism of action of YM155 in different breast cancer cell lines. KEY RESULTS: YM155 was equally potent towards the parental ER(+) /caspase-3-deficient MCF7 breast cancer cells and its tamoxifen-resistant sublines in vitro. The ER(-) /HER2(+) SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells and the triple-negative/caspase-3-expressing metastatic aggressive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were also sensitive to YM155 with IC50 values in the low nanomolar range. Targeting survivin by YM155 modulated autophagy, induced autophagy-dependent caspase-7 activation and autophagy-dependent DNA damage in breast cancer cells. Interestingly, YM155 also induced XIAP degradation and the degradation of XIAP might play an important role in YM155-induced autophagy in breast cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: YM155 is a potent survivin inhibitor that has potential for the management of various breast cancer subtypes regardless of the expression of ER, HER2 and caspase-3. Importantly, this study provides new insights into YM155's molecular mechanism of action and therapeutic potential in the treatment of tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer.

Tracheal bronchus associated with lung cancer: a case report.

Tracheal bronchus is a rarely found congenital bronchial anomaly. It usually originates from the right lateral wall of the trachea at the level < 2 cm above the tracheal bifurcation. The patients usually are asymptomatic, but some may experience recurrent pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, or bronchiectasis. It is very rare for a malignant tumor to grow from this aberrant bronchus. There are only four cases of lung cancer developing from the tracheal bronchus reported in the world literature, and we present a fifth case.

Non-small cell lung cancer in very young and very old patients.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: A cancer registry was analyzed to determine if the clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment modalities, and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients < 40 years of age at diagnosis differed from patients > 80 years of age at diagnosis. DESIGN: Retrospective review of patients with NSCLC diagnosed between 1987 and 1996. SETTING: General teaching hospital in Taiwan. PATIENTS: There were 6,048 cases of NSCLC diagnosed during this period. Among them, 127 patients were < 40 years old and 184 patients were > 80 years old. These patients were selected for our study. MEASUREMENTS: Data regarding demographics, presentation symptoms, histology, tumor staging, treatment modality, and survival were obtained from all patients. Pearson's chi(2) test and the Kaplan-Meier method with a log-rank test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: We found significantly more female patients (p < 0.001) and adenocarcinoma (p < 0.001) in the younger group, when compared with the older patients. Cough was the most frequent presenting symptom in both age groups, followed by dyspnea, chest pain, and hemoptysis. There was no statistical difference in the severity of the disease in terms of staging between the two age groups. Young patients received surgical intervention more frequently than the aged (p = 0.025). The older patients received only supportive care more frequently (p = 0.011) than the younger patients. Survival was better in young patients, when compared with other patients or aged patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The female sex and adenocarcinoma were predominant in young NSCLC patients, when compared with the older patients. Young NSCLC patients tended to receive more aggressive treatment and had better survival.

Altered expression profile of the surface glycopeptidolipids in drug-resistant clinical isolates of Mycobacterium avium complex.

Members of the Mycobacterium avium complex are the most frequently encountered opportunistic bacterial pathogens among patients in the advanced stage of AIDS. Two clinical isolates of the same strain, numbers 397 and 417, were obtained from an AIDS patient with disseminated M. avium complex infection before and after treatment with a regimen of clarithromycin and ethambutol. To identify the biochemical consequence of drug treatment, the expression and chemical composition of their major cell wall constituents, the arabinogalactan, lipoarabinomannan, and the surface glycopeptidolipids (GPL), were critically examined. Through thin layer chromatography, mass spectrometry, and chemical analysis, it was found that the GPL expression profiles differ significantly in that several apolar GPLs were overexpressed in the clinically resistant 417 isolate at the expense of the serotype 1 polar GPL, which was the single predominant band in the ethambutol-susceptible 397 isolate. Thus, instead of additional rhamnosylation on the 6-deoxytalose (6-dTal) appendage to give the serotype 1-specific disaccharide hapten, the accumulation of this nonextended apolar GPL probably provided more precursor substrate available for further nonsaccharide substitutions including a higher degree of O-methylation to give 3-O-Me-6-dTal and the unusual 4-O-sulfation on 6-dTal. Further data showed that this alteration effectively neutralized ethambutol, which is known to inhibit arabinan synthesis. Thus, in contrast with derived Emb-resistant mutants of Mycobacterium smegmatis or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which are devoid of a surface GPL layer, the lipoarabinomannan from resistant 417 isolate grown in the presence of this drug was not apparently truncated.

Prediction of human femoral bone strength using ultrasound velocity and BMD: an in vitro study.

The stiffness and strength of cancellous bone are important in the management of skeletal diseases such as osteoporosis. These properties are a function not only of bone density but also of bone architecture, some measure of which can be provided by quantitative ultrasound. The ability of quantitative ultrasound and bone mineral density (BMD) to predict stiffness and strength of human femoral heads removed from live subjects during hip replacement was assessed. Stiffness and strength were measured using a uniaxial compression test. Ultrasound velocity was measured using the pulse-submersion technique (McCue CUBAResearch) and BMD using DXA (Lunar DPX-L). Ultrasound velocity (quantitative ultrasound) and stiffness varied with the three orthogonal directions, the highest significance being between the proximo-distal (PD) and antero-posterior (AP) directions (p < 0.0001 for stiffness and p = 0.0003 for velocity). Ultrasound velocity was significantly correlated with compressive bone strength (r = 0.76, p < 0.0001) and stiffness (r = 0.79-0.83, p < 0.0001). BMD was also significantly correlated with compressive strength (r = 0.82, p < 0.0001) and stiffness (r = 0.66-0.81. p < 0.001). Using multiple regression analysis both BMD and velocity were significant predictors of strength (r = 0.88, p = 0.0004 and 0.0054 respectively) and stiffness (r = 0.92, p = 0.0001 and 0.0003 respectively). BMD and velocity were still independent significant predictors of both stiffness (r = 0.93, p < 0.0001 and 0.0001 respectively) and strength (r = 0.89, p < 0.0001 and 0.02) when they were combined as a product (BMDn*Vm). This suggests that BMD measured using DXA, if used in conjunction with ultrasound velocity, may be able to improve osteoporosis risk assessment. The information about femur anisotropy may also be important for hip prosthesis and in vivo modelling.

Characterization of two novel filamentous phages of Xanthomonas.

Two filamentous phages of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae were isolated and designated phi Xv and phi Xo, respectively. They were similar to other filamentous phages of Xanthomonas in (i) shape, (ii) restrictive host specificity, (iii) high stability, (iv) an ssDNA genome, (v) a dsDNA as the replicative form (RF), (vi) propagation without lysis of host cells and (vii) ability to integrate into the host chromosome. These phages showed sequence homology to filamentous phage phi Lf of X. c. pv. campestris. phi Xv was inactivated by antisera against phi Xv, phi Xo and phi Lf, whereas phi Xo and phi Lf were inactivated only by their respective antisera and the anti-phi Xv serum. Both the single-stranded phage DNAs and the RF DNAs of phi Xv, phi Xo and phi Lf were able to transfect X. c. pv. vesicatoria, X. o. pv. oryzae and X. c. pv. campestris. Physical maps of phi Xv and phi Xo were constructed for the RF DNAs. Genome sizes were estimated, based on mapping data, to be 6.8 kb for phi Xv and 7.6 kb for phi Xo, larger than that of the phi Lf genome (6.0 kb). The difference in genome sizes appeared to result from insertions of large DNA fragments. These fragments and the regions mediating integration were localized in the physical maps.